Bobbin chute for weft replenishing looms



Nov. 18, 1941.

w. A.` BLANCHARD BOBBIN CHUTE FOR WE'T REPLEISHIG LOOMSy Filgd oct. 1o,1940 L Il l nimm m.

INvENroR ATToRNl-:Y

Patented Nov. 18, 1941 N f gUNITED STATE `BoBIN CHUTE Fon WEFTREPLENIsnING` LooMs y WilliamA. Blanchard, Millbury,` Mass., assignor toCrompton `& Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., a corporation ofMassachusetts I pplication October`10, 1940;'SerialNo`. 360,615.'

which check the shuttles as they enter the boxes.

It is animportant feature of `my `present invention to construct a chuteone end of which will beheldin positionby the binder pin.

The gang of shuttle boxes is generally constructed with a-front plateorwall located at that end o f the `rboxes adjacent to the clothbeingwoven;r It is a further. object of my present invention ,tol provideabobbinchute constructedy tohave portionsthereof which will slide intoholding engagement with the front wall, the latter chute in positiom. II

The shuttle binders are ordinarily mounted between lugswhich projectforwardly from the gang oflboxes. One'set of lugs located at the outerendy of the shuttle-boxes receives the binder pin while the other set oflugsnearthe inner end of the boxes serves as guides for the free ends ofthe binders. It is a further object of my present invention to providethe bobbin chute with retaining portions which iit between adjacentlugs, the latter` thereby preventing substantial vertical motion ofV thechute with respect to the gang of boxes.` i

`It is anotherv object of my present invention to construct a bobbinchute of sheet material possessing sufcient inherent resilience so thatthe rear part-of the chute will be held against a back wall of one ofthe shuttleQ boxes by reason of the resilience of the chute. By thisconstruction the bobbin chute is prevented t from vibrating during theback and forth swing ofthe lay which carries the shuttle boxes."

.With these and other objects in view which will appear as thedescriptionl proceeds, my invention resides in the combination andarrangements of parts hereinafter described and set forth.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein a convenient embodiment of myinvention is set forth: Fig. 1 is a front elevation of one end of a loomlay showing the gang ofshutttle boxes with my invention applied thereto,

Fig.`2 is a vertical section on line 2-2 of Fig.- 1

looking toward the outer Vendof the lay and showing the bobbin chute inposition for delivering the depleted bobbin to the right,

together with the binder pin holding the .bobbin I Fig. 3 is a detailedhorizontal section on line 3,-3 of Fig. 1 on an enlarged scale, I

Fig. 4 isav detailed vertical section on of Fig. 1 looking toward thecenter ofthe loom,y vFig. 5'is`a horizontalsection on line5-5 of Fig.lon anenlarged scale, and .p I p Fig. 6 is a horizontal section on lineLl-j-'I` of Fig. 1 on a reduced scale. l j I A Referring particularly toFig..l, I have shown theloom lay L and one of the swords I0 on which itis mounted. Projecting to the right from the sword is a lay end I Ihaving an inner guide, plate I2 which is grooved `as at I3 to receive atongue p I4 on the inner end of a gang of shuttle `boxes G. Anfoute'rguide plate I5 similar to the plate I2. is provided with a `guide grooveI6 to receive a tongue Il on the outer or right hand end` of the gangofshuttle boxes as viewed in Fig. 1.

In the present instance the gang G is formed with fourdifferent shuttlereceiving cells repre- Y sented respectively from top to bottom at2l'l,.2|,` 22 and 23. The cell Zllisjprovided with aphorizontal topplate 25,` while the lower cell; 23 is provided with a bottom plate 26,and intermediate plates 21 formthe oorsof the three upper cells. A boxlifter rod 30'is secured to `the bottom plate 25 and is reciprocatedvertically to place any one of the cells in active picking position withrespect to the race plate 3| of the lay. During vertical reciprocationof the boxes the` tongues I4 and I1 slide inthe grooves`l3 and` I6,respectively.

As shown in Fig. 6 the shuttleboxes `are provided at their inner endswith front vertical wall or plate 35 from which project a series ofvertically spacedlugs 36. The outer end of the gang is provided withanother plate 38also provided with vertically spaced lugs 39. A shuttlebinder pin 4I] passes vertically` through the lugs 39 and serves as apivot for binders 4I In Fig. 1 I have shown two binders but it is to beunderstood that when the boxes are to be used .for non-automatic pickand pick weaving there will be a binder for each ofthe shuttle cells.`As shown in Fig. 1 the boxes are arranged for automatic weaving and thebinders have been removedfrom the lower cells I shuttle S in the topcell 20. It is thoughtsufiicient for purposes of the present descriptionto line state that at the time of a weft replenishing operation of theloom the transferred arm 45 will descendto place a fresh reserve bobbinR shown in Fig. 2 into the shuttle S and at the same time push the emptyor depleted bobbin D out of the shuttle down through the cell 2| towardthe bobbin chute C to be described presently. In the particulararrangement set forth herein it is necessary of course that the secondcell 2| be empty, or unoccupied by the shuttle, at the time of weftreplenishment, but this condition is easily achieved by certain shuttlesequences and imposes no hardship upon the automatic operation of a loomof the type generally contemplated by my invention. My invention is notnecessarily limited to use with the two cells 29 and 2| as shown inFigs. 1 and 2;

In carrying my invention into effect I provide a bobbin chute designatedgenerally at C to be located below the cell 2| for the purpose ofdeflecting the outgoing bobbin Dr forwardly toward a bobbin can' notshown. The bobbin chute comprises a floor 50 which is inclined upwardlyand rearwardly' and extends across the lowest cell 23 and into' cell 22.The floor 50 is bent vertically as at 5| to liek along the shuttleboxback 29 of cell 22. Bent' up from the inner end of the floor 5l] is awing 53 which engages the head or butt 54 of the outgoing bobbin, whilethe' outer or right end of the oor 50 as Viewed in Fig. 1 has bentupwardly' therefrom a second wing 55.

I The oor 50 is mounted on two supporting` feet, the right hand foot 60extending' behind theV floor and beingV riveted thereto as at 6|. Foot6D' is provided with a bearing 62' through which the binder pin 40extends, andthis bearing extends between the lowest lug 39' and the lugimmediately thereabove. These' two lugs effectively preventobjectionable vertical motion ofthe foot 6U and therefore of the righthand end of the bobbin chute' as viewed in Fig. 1.

The left foot 65 is riveted as at 66 to the back of the oor 50 and asshown in Fig. 1 has two forward fingers 63 and one rear finger 64.spacedbehind the front fingers a suiiicient distance to receive `the wall 35of the gang of shuttle boxes. The lingers 63 project to the leftsufficiently to extend between and engage the lowest pair of lugs 36for' the purpose of preventing objectionable vertical motion of the foot65 and left end of floor 50 relatively to the gang of'boxesl Thus itwill be seen that both the right and left ends of the bobbin chute areheld against vertical motion by engagement of the feet 60 and 65 withtheir corresponding lugs 39 and 36.

Assuming that the binders have been removed from lthe low cells 22 and23 by raising pin 40', the tongues 63 and 64 will then` be slid to theleft along the wall 35 to assume some suchV position as shown in Figs. 1and 6. This motion of the chute is' made possible by the fact that thewin'g55 is spaced from the lugs 39 a distance equal at least to theamount by which the tongues overlap the wall 35 and further because ofthe fact that the pin 40 is temporarily in raised position' and the foot69 can slide along the front face of the wall 38 to the left from theposition shown in dotted lines in' Fig. 6. When the chute has been movedto the left to itsA proper position the binder pin 40 will be lowered topass through the bearing 62 and the chute will be held againsthorizontal motion with respect to the gang of boxes.

In order that the chute may not vibrate during the back and forth motionof the lay, the wall 5| is so constructed that it is held by theresilience of the chute against the front surface of wall 29. When thepin 40 is passed through the bearing 62 it causes a slight twist in thechute the effect of which is to hold the wall 5| in close engagementwith the wall 29 to prevent vibration. v

When the chute is located as shown in Fig. 1 the inclined wing 53 iscorrectly positioned to engage the butt 54 of the outgoing bobbin D andthe forward and downward inclination of the floor 5|) directs thedepleted bobbin forwardly. In passing downwardly the bobbin D will passthrough they positions shown in dot and dash, and dotted lines, Fig. 1.

When the chute is to be removed for any purpose, the operations alreadydescribed will be reversed, the pin 40 being raised to release thebearing 62 and the chute being then slid to the right to disengage thetongues 63 and 64 from the wall 35.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a simple form ofbobbin chute which is held in position by the customary parts of a gangof shifting shuttle boxes, one end of the chute being positioned bymeans of a binder pin while the other end is positioned by the frontwall 35 of the shuttle boxes. Furthermore, the lugs which are ordinarilyprovided for cooperation with the shuttle binders prevent objectionablevertical motion of the chute by engagement with theV supporting feet 6Uand 65. While I have shown a bearingv 62 on one of the feet I do notwish necessarily to be limited to this construction. It will also beseen that the distance between the wing 55 and the lugs 39 is sufficientto permit the chute to be slid to the right as viewed in Fig. 1 asufficient distance to disengage the tongues 63 and 64 from the frontwall of the plate 35. Again, if desired, the inherent resilience of thematerial ofv which the chute is formed can be relied upon to hold thevertical top wall 5| against the back wall 29y of cell 22.

Having thus describedl my invention it will be seen that changes andmodications may be made therein by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wishto be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is:

1. In a loom having a lay and a shuttle boX on the lay to receive ashuttle which is held in position for a replenishing operation by ashuttle binder, a pin on the shuttle box to provide a pivotal supportfor the shuttle binder, a bobbin chute below the shuttle, means on oneend of the chute to connect the pin and bobbin chute, and additionalmeans on the other end of the chute to hold the latter to the shuttlebox, said means and `additional means holding the chute in the path of adepleted bobbin moving downwardly from the shuttle.

2. In a loom having a lay and a shuttle box on the lay to receive ashuttle which is held in position for a replenishing operation by ashuttle binder, a pivot pin on the shuttle box on which the shuttlebinder is pivoted, and a bobbin chute having a part on one end thereofto engage the pivot pin and another part on the other end to hold thechute to the shuttle box, the latter and pin cooperating with said partsto hold the bobbin chute in the path of a bobbin moving downwardly fromthe shuttle.

3. In a multi-cell shuttle box for a weft replenishing loom,said-shuttle box having a plurality of vertically aligned cells in theupper `of which is .located a shuttle containing a depleted bobbin 'to-be moved downwardly from the shuttle on a weft replenishing operationof the loom, a shuttle binder to hold the shuttle in position forreplenishment on a weft replenishing operation, a binder pin on whichthe shuttle binder is pivoted, a bobbin chute under the shuttleextending into certain of the lower cells of the shuttle boxes landhaving a portion on one -end to engage and be held by the binder pin andhaving a second portion at the other end held by the shuttle box,

said portions cooperating with the pin and shuttle box to hold the chutein the path of `a depleted bobbin moving downwardly from the shuttle. i

4. In a multi-cell shuttle box for a weft replenishing loom, saidshuttle box having a plurality of vertically aligned cells in the upperof which is located a shuttle containing a depleted bobbin to be moveddownwardly from the shuttle on a weft replenishing operation of theloom, a shuttle binder to hold the shuttle in positon for replenishmenton `a weft replenishing operation, a binder pin carried by the shuttlebox on which the shuttle binder is pivoted, a bobbin chute having -adownwardly and forwardly extending floor, means rigid with one end ofthe floor surrounding a portion of the pin, other means rigid with theother end of said floor held to the shuttle box, said means assisting inholding the floor of the chute in stationary position with respect tothe shuttle box and in the path of a depleted bobbin moving downwardlyfrom the shuttle.

5. In a loom having a lay with a shuttle box thereon having a cell tohold a shuttle from which a depleted bobbin is projected downwardlyduring a weft replenishing operation of the loom, a projection extendingforwardly from the shuttle box, a bobbin chut-e below said cell, meanson one end of the bobbin chute to engage said projection, said means andprojection cooperating to prevent motion of the bobbin chute verticallywith respect to the shuttle box and the shuttle in said cell and meansto hold the other end of the chute xed with respect to the shuttle box.

6. In a loom having a lay with a shuttle box thereon having a cell tohold a shuttle from which a depleted bobbin is projected downwardlyduring a weft; replenishing operation of the loom, a pair of verticallyspaced projections extending forwardly from the shuttle box, a bobbinchute below said cell, a foot on one end of said bobbin chute extendingbetween and engaging said projections to prevent relative verticalmotion of the bobbin chute with respect to the shuttle box and means tohold the other end of the chute fixed with respect to the shuttle box.

'7. In a shuttle box for a weft replenishing loom, the shuttle boxhaving a series of vertically aligned cells in the upper of which islocated a shuttle held in position by a shuttle binder to receive afresh carrier of weft simultaneously with the downward expulsion of adepleted carrier of weft from the shuttle during a weft replenishingoperation of the loom, a lug projecting forwardly from the shuttle box,a binder pin extending through the lug to afford pivotal support for theshuttle binder, a bobbin chute having a downwardly and forwardlyinclined floor located below the top cell, means on one end of the chuteengaging the binder pin and the lug to cooperate with said pin and lugto assist in holding the bobbin chute in the path of a depleted carrierof weft descending from the shuttle and means to hold the other end ofthe chute fixed with respect to the shuttle box. v i

`8. In ar shuttle box for a weft replenishing loom, the shuttle boxhaving a series of vertically aligned cells in the upper of which islocated a shuttle held in position by a shuttle binder to receive afresh supply of weft simultaneously with the downward expulsion of adepleted supply of weft from the shuttle during a weft replenishingoperation of the loom, a projection extending forwardly from the shuttlebox, a binder pin extending through the projection and affording pivotalsupport for the shuttle binder, a bobbin chute having a forwardly anddownwardly inclined iloor located under the cell containing the shuttleto be replenished, means rigid with one end of the chute engaging theprojection and having formed thereon a bearing which surrounds thebinderpin, `said projection resisting vertical motion of the adjacent end ofthe chute with respect to the shuttle box and the binder pin resistingforward motion ofthe chute with respect to the shuttle box and means tohold the other end of the chute fixed with respect to the shuttle box.

9. In a multi-cell shuttle box for a weft replenishing loom, saidshuttle box having a top cell containing a shuttle from which a depletedweft carrier is expelled downwardly during the weft replenishingoperation of the loom, a front wall forming part of the shuttle box, abobbin chute having a forwardly and downwardly inclined floor under saidtop cell, means comprising horizontally spaced fingers rigid with thechute at one end thereof to engage opposite sides of thev wall toprevent forward motion of the adjacent part of the chute relatively tothe shuttle box and hold said part of the chute in the path of a weftcarrier moving downwardly from the shuttle and means to hold the otherend of the chute fixed with respect to the shuttle box.

10. In a multi-cell shuttle box construction for a weft replenishingloom, said shuttle box having the top cell to contain a shuttle to bereplenished and have downwardly expelled therefrom a depleted weftcarrier, a plurality of vertically spaced lugs projecting forwardly fromthe shuttle box, a front wall for the shuttle box supporting said lugs,a bobbin chute having a forwardly and downwardly inclined floor locatedunder said top cell, means secured tothe chute to engage the front andback surfaces of said wall to assist in resisting forward motion of thechute relatively to the shuttle box and also engaging said lugs toresist vertical motion of the adjacent part of the chute relatively tothe shuttle box and means to hold the other end of the chute fixed withrespect to the shuttle box.

1l. In a bobbin chute for a shuttle box having a front wall adjacent toone end thereof extending below a shuttle receiving cell and having ashuttle binder pin adjacent to the other end thereof, said chute havinga floor to be inclined downwardly and forwardly when the chute is inposition under the shuttle receiving cell, a foot extending laterallyfrom one end of the floor and having horizontally spaced fingers, onefinger to be in front of and another finger to be behind the front Wall,and a bearing for the binder pin extending laterally from the other endof the floor.

12. In a shuttle box having a top shuttle receiving cell from which adepleted weft carrier is expelled downwardly, said shuttle box havingvertical horizontally spaced front walls, a bobbin chute below theshuttle receiving cell having a downwardly and forwardly inclined floor,lateral wings extending upwardly from the oor on each side of the latterbetween said front walls, means on one side of the chute to establish asliding and holding connection between one of the walls and said chute,said means having portions to engage opposite sides of said one frontwall and project along the same a given distance, and means extendingfrom the other side of the chute to have holding relation with part ofthe shuttle box, the distance between said wings plus said givendistance being less than the distance measured horizontally between saidfront walls, whereby said iioor and wings can be inserted between saidwalls and then slid horizontally to establish holding connection betweenthe first said means and said one wall.

1'3. In a bobbin chute for a shuttle box having a shuttle receiving cellbelow which extend horizontally spaced vertical front walls from each ofwhich a pair of vertically spaced projections extend forwardly, theshuttle box having a shuttle binder pin extending vertically through theprojections of one of said walls, an inclined oor forming part of thechute, a bearing foot extending laterally from one end of the chute toreceive the binder pin and extend between and engage the projectionsthrough which said binder pin extends, and a laterally extending foot onthe other end of the oor to extend between and engage the projections ofthe other wall, said feet to prevent vertical motion of the chuterelatively to the shuttle box by engagement with their respective pairsof projections.

WILLIAM A. BLANCHARD.

